Tear-open sealed containers and closures therefor



May 2, 1967 Y T. E. BETNER 3,317,068

TEAR-OPEN SEALED CONTAINERS AND CLOSURES THEREFOR Filed March 22, 1965 2Sheets-Sheet l May z, 1967 T. E. BETNERv TEAR-OPEN SEALED CONTAINERS ANDCLOSURES THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n Filed March 22, 1965 United StatesPatent O 3,317,068 TEAR-OPEN SEALED CONTAINERS AND CLQSURES THEREFORThomas E. Bettler, Bryn Mawr, Pa., assignor to Acme Plate t Mat Company,Malvern, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 22, 1965, Ser.No. 441,470 8 Claims. (Cl. 21S-39) This invention relates to sealedcontainers `and particularly to a cover construction which aifordshermetic `sealing of the container body, which can be manually Vtorn olffor access to the container contents and which after tear-olf can beused to re-close the unsealed container.

In accordance with the present invention, the open end of the containerbody is sealed by a push-on lid or cap cover comprising two bondedlayers of substantially different strength. The container-sealing bondbetween the thin inner l-ayer and the container -mouth is stronger thanthe inter-layer bonding of the cover so that when access to the sealedcontainer contents is desired, the lifting olf of the outer layer of thecover leaves the peripheral sealing area of the thin inner layer of thecover attached to the container mouth. The outer layer of the removedcover remains essentially intact :and is usable to re-cloSe the unsealedcontainer by gripping engagement between the cover and retainingstructure of the container body.

More particularly, the outer layer of the cover may be of cardboard,metal Vfoil or the like coated or laminated `with 1a thin layer ofheat-sealing thermoplastic o-r other sheeting. The inner layer ispre-weakened as by `scoring clearly to define the peripheral sealingarea of the cover. At least the mouth of the container body is made of,or coated with, thermoplastic to afford between the container mouth andthe applied cover a strong hermetic seal exceeding the strength of thebond between the two layers of the cover. By selection of the width ofthe seal and, therefore, the seal area, the amount of force required todelaminate the cover in opening of the lcontainer may be predetermined.The cap preferably snugly ts within the container mouth: in somemodications the cap may be crimped over the rim of the container mouthso that, `after unsealing, the removed cap may :be re-inserted andrecrimped to re-close the unsealed container; in other modifications,the rim of the container mouth may be crimped over the topside marginalarea of the cap so that, after unsealing, the removed cap may -bere-inserted and held in place by recrimping the rim of the containermouth.

In those modifications in which the cover lits wholly within thecontainer mouth, a lifting tab within the lperimeter of the cover may beprovided to facilitate unsealing of the container without tools. Suchtab is not necessary for other modiiications in which, for example, thecap is crimped over the container mouth. In either case, the outer layerof the cover is strong enough to resist the lifting force applied .toseparate its outer layer from that portion of the inner layer which issealed to the container mouth. v

The invention further resides in sealed containers and containerclosures having features of construction, combination and arrangementhereinafter described and claimed.

For a more detailed understanding of the invention, reference is -madeto the following description of pre- 3,317,668 Patented May 2, 1967 iceferred embodiments thereof and to the accompanying drawings in which: v

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a lid or cover suited for insertion whollywithin the mouth of the container body of FIG. 3;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view in section taken on line 2 2 of FIG.l;

FIG. 3 is .a side elevational view in section of acontainer body;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view in section showing the lid of FIG. 1sealed to the container body of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view in section showing the container ofFIG. 4 unsealed and its re-usable lid;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view Iof a crimp-type cover with part of itsinner layer broken away;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view in side elevation of the beadedopen top of a container;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view in section showing the coverof FIG. 6sealed to the open end of the container body of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view in section showing the container ofFIG. 8 unsealed and its re-usable cover;

FIG. l0 is a top plan view of a cover for insertion in the mouth of thecontainer body of FIG. 13;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view in section taken on line 11-11 ofFIG. l0;

FIG. l2 is a side elevational view in section of a con tainer body witha crimp-over rim;

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view in section showing the -lid `of FIG.l0 sealed within the mouth of the container 12 `and mechanically held bythe crimped-over rmi;

FIG. 14ris a side elevational view in section showing the container ofFIG. 13 unsealed and its re-usa-ble cover;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary side elevational view. in sec tion showinganother crimp-type cover sealed to a container body having a beadedmouth;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the sealed containerof FIG. 15 showing an unsealing tab; and

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary side elevational view in sec-I tion showing thecontainer of FIGS. 1S vand l'unseafled, its re-usable crimp-on cover,and a throw-away strip torn from .the original cover.

Referring to FIGS. l to 4, the push-in lid 10A fo closing the open endor mouth 18A of `container body 17A to form a sealed container comprisesthe bonded layers 11A, 12A which difer substantially in strength andthickness. The inner weaker layer 12A is sealed throughout its marginalarea 20A to the ledge 19 formed within the mouth of the container body.Such marginal area is clearly defined by the score line 13A, orequivalent cuts or perforations, which do not penetrate through theouter layer. With the cap applied and sealed, the container contents areisolated from ambient atmosphere by a hermetic seal protected frommechanical injury by the strong outer layer of the cover.

To facilitate removal of the cover 10A for original access to thecontainer contents, the cover may be provided with a precut lift-tab 14and a precut fingernail notch 15. The cuts deiinin-g tab 14 andr notch15 are only in the outer layer 11A and do not extend to or through theinner layer 12A of the cover. To unseal the container of FIG. 4, it isonly necessary to grasp and lift the tab 14 of cover 10A while containerbody 17A is held as by the other hand. During such lifting of cover 10A,the marginal area 20A of the inner layer 12A separates from the outerlayer 10A and remains permanently attached to the ledge 19 of thecontainer body (FIG. 5)-so leaving on the under side of the peeled-offlid 10A a peripheral gap 21A which there exposes the upper layer 11A. Insome cases, as for example when of cardborrl, such exposed surface ofthe layer 11A is slightly rough because of adherence of surface materialto the marginal area 20A. However, even in such case, the thick outerlayer 11A of lid 10A remains essentially intact so that the lid 10A maybe used to re-close the unsealed container for satisfactory protectedstorage under conditions less stringent than existing during thehandling and shipment of the sealed containers. The frictionalengagement between the periphery of the re-used cover and the containerbody at and above the ledge 19 suffices to hold the cover in place forre-use purposes.

The outer layer 11A of the push-in type lid 10A (FIGS. l to is ofsubstantial thickness and rigidity. It may, for example, be cardboard,hardboard, plyboard and plastic sheet of thickness in the range fromabout 0.001" to 0.030. The relatively thin layer 12A of lid 10A may be athermoplastic coating applied to the web or sheet from which the lidsare cut, or it may be a thin thermoplastic film, usually of thickness ofthe order of about 0.001, bonded to such web. For most applications, theinner layer 12A of lid 10A is coextensive with the outer layer, but itmay be a coating stripe approximately the dimensions and shape of ledge19 of the container body. Both layers of lid A may of transparentheat-sealing plastic to permit their joinder by hot or cold-welding andto permit inspection of the contents of a sealed container whose body isopaque or not exposed. The scoring 13A, 0r equivalent, is effected afterjoinder of the layers 11A, 12A and does not penetrate through the outerthicker layer 11A.

For most uses, the inner layer 12A of cover 10A is a heat-sealingplastic, for example, polyethylene, for sealing of the cover to the openend of a container body, either formed from heat-sealing plastic byinjection molding, pressure or vacuum-forming or the like, or at leastwhose mouth end specifically at shoulder 19 has been Coated withthermoplastic. In the latter case, the con- .tainer body, or the mouthend thereof, may be of any container material including glass, tin,aluminum, heavy cardboard or plastic which itself is not heat-sealing.In all cases, the mouth of the container `body may be oval, square,circular or other shape, and the cover 10A will be of similar shape andsize to fit into the container mouth.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the crimp-on lid 10B for closing the upperend or mouth ISB of container body 17A to form a sealed containercomprises the bonded layers 11B, 12B of substantially differentstrength, The thin inner layer 12B is sealed throughout its marginalarea 20B to the rim of the container mouth 10B. The marginal area 20B isclearly defined by the score line 13B, or equivalent, whose cuts,perforations or scoring do not break through the outer layer 11B.

The container 17B may, for example, be a milk bottle, either formed ofplastic, or whose mouth is coated with thermoplastic, for heat-sealingto t-he inner layer 12B of lid 10B so to afford a hermetic sealisolating the container contents from atmosphere. By preselection of thewidth of the seal and, therefore, the seal area, the force required todelaminate the lid in opening of the container may be predetermined.Such control of the force required for unsealing exists for the othermodifications as well. The peripheral edge or margin of lid 12B isprepleated to facilitate crimping over the ybeaded rim 18B of thecontainer mouth, so to relieve the hermetic seal from handling stresses.

T-o unseal the container (FIG. 8) for initial access to its contents,the crimped edge of cover 10B is lifted upwardly and outwardly at anyregion, the unsealed marginal area of the cover serving as a liftingtab. During such lifting of the cover 10B to peel it off the containerbody, the marginal area 20B of the inner cover layer 12B remainspermanently attached (FIG. 9) to the beaded mouth of the container body.The separation of the marginal sealing area of the inner layer 12B fromthe upper layer 11B leaves a peripheral gap 21B in the undersurface ofthe removed cover 11B. However, even in such case, the outer layer 11Bremains essentially intact (FIG. 9) so that the removed lid may be usedagain to re-close the -unsealed container by manually pressing therecessed central portion of the cover into the container mouth andpressing the pleated edge over and under the beaded rim thereof. Thegripping engagement between the reapplied cover 10B and the beaded edgeof the container suces to hold the cover in place for re-use purposes ofthe container; it may be enhanced by locating the seal, as in FIGS. 15to 17, lower on the outside of the beaded rim of the container mouth orbelow such bead.

For the crimp-on lid 10B of FIGS. 6 to 9, the outer layer 11B of thecover may be metal foil, thin cardboard, heavy paper or the like. 'Iherelatively .thin inner layer 12B of cover 10B may be a coating appliedto the web or sheet from which lids are cut, or it may be a thin filmo1' membrane usually of thickness of the orde-r of 0.001 bonded to suchweb. Preferably and for most applications, the inner layer 12B of cover10B is coextensive with the upper layer 12b, but it may be a coatingstripe generally -corresponding in location with the area 20B.

For most applications, the inner layer 12B of cover 10B is aheat-sealing plastic, for example, polyethylene for sealing of cover 10Bto the open end of the container body either made from heat-sealingplastic or at least whose beaded mouth has been coated with suchmaterial. In the latter case, the container body 17B may be of anycontainer material including glass, cardboard or plastic which itself isnot heat-sealing. -It is also to be understood thatas in othermodifications, the mouth of the container body 17'B may be circular,oval, square or other shape, rand the cover 10B for it will be ofsimilar shape lbut somewhat larger for crimping over the mouth.

Referring to FIGS. 10 to 14, the push-in lid 10C for closing the openend or m-outh 18C of container body 17C to form a sealed containercomprises the bonded layer 11A, 12A which, as in the modificationspreviously described, differ substantially in strength and thickness.The lid 10C may be of the same construction as the lid 10A of FIGS. 1and 2 for insertion into the open mouth of container Ibody 17C whichdiffers in construction from the container body 17A of FIG. 3 in that itis of heavy cardboard, aluminum foil or the like whose rim 22C may becrimped (FIG. 13) over the topside marginal area of cover 10C. In theinitial closure of the filled container body 17C, the inner weaker layer12A of the inserted lid 10C is sealed throughout its marginal area 20Ato the ledge 19 formed within the mouth of the container body. At leastthe ledge region of the container mouth is coated with heat-sealingthermoplastic. With the cap 10C inserted and heat-sealed, the containercontents are isolated from ambient atmosphere by a hermetic seal: therim 22C of the container mouth is then crimped inwardly to provideclamping pressure on the topside of the sealed lid correspondingly torelieve the seal of strain and stress incident to shipment and handlingof the sealed container.

To unseal the container (FIG. 13), it is only necessary to grasp andlift the tab 14, or equivalent, of cover 10C while the container body17C is held as by the other hand. During lifting of cover 10C, themarginal area 20C of the inner layer 12C of cover 10C remains attachedto ledge 19C of the container body and so separates from thecorresponding area of the underside of the outer layer 11C of the cover;at the same time, the lifting force u-ncurls or straightens out thecrimped rim 22C of the container mouth 18C so that the cover 10C, instate shown in FIG. 14, is removed from the open mouth of the containerbody 17C for unobstructed access to the container contents.

As in FIG. 5, the lid C of FIG. 14 may lbe used for re-closure of theunsealed container for temporary protection of the unused contents byresinserting the lid in the open mouth of the container and recrimpingthe rim 22C of the container to hold the lid in place without dependingupon frictional engagement between the periphery of the lid and thecontainer mouth at and above ledge 19C.

Referring to FIGS. and 16, the crimp-on lid or cap 10D for closing theupper open end or mouth 18D of container body 17D to =form a sealedcontainer comprises the bonded layers 11D, 12D of substantiallydifferent strength. The outer layer 11D is preferably of metal foil; thethin inner layer 12D, as in the other modifications, may be athermoplastic coating applied to the sheet or web from which the lidsare cut, or it may be a thin thermoplastic lm bonded to such web to forma laminate. The thin inner layer 12D of the initially applied cover 10Dis heat-sealed throughout its peripheral area 20D to the outside of thecontainer body 17D below the beaded rim thereof. Such marginal area, isdefined by the score line 13D. The outer layer 11D of the cover is alsoexternally scored or perfo-rated along the line 23D to outline atear-off strip 25D opposite the sealed marginal area D of the innerlayer 12D of the cover. Preferably, zand yas shown in FIG. 16, the cover10D has a tab 24D extending beyond the sealed edge of the cover.

The container body 17D may be a bottle, can or jar; when it is not ofheat-sealing plastic, such material is applied to encircle the containerbody at least as a stripe adjacent the region Where the exterior face ofthe side wall or neck joins the beaded rim of the container mouth.Application of heat and pressure to the periphery of the applied cover10D effects a hermetic seal between the inner layer 12D of the cover 10Dand such region of the container body: the -crimping of the cover 10Dover the beaded rim of the container mouth relieves the seal of handlingstresses.

To unseal the container (FIG. 16) for initial aaccess to its contents,the cover tab 24D is lifted slightly and pulled clockwise around thecontainer so to peel off the marginal area 25D of the outer layer 11D ofthe cover (FIG. 17). During such peel-off, the marginal area 20D of theinner layer of the cover remains attached to the container body (FIG.17). The broken ring fonmed by fthe torneoff marginal area 25D of theouter layer of the orignal cover 10D is thrown away. However, thecentral disc or cap portion 261D of the original cover is reusable toprotect the partially depleted contents of the container. For suchre-use purposes, the removed cover cap 26D is applied over .the mouth ofthe container and its peripheral Iarea re-shaped over the beaded rim tohold the cover in place.

It is to be understood the invention is not limited to the specificmodications shown but comprehends equivalents within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sealed container and cover arrangement which can be unsealed byremoval of the cover without recourse to a knife or other tool and whichprovides for recapping of the unsealed container by the removed covercomprising a container body having cover-retaining structure adjacentits open end, and

a cover comprising two layers of substantially different strength havingtheir adjacent faces bonded together, at least the outer stronger layerof said cover extending across said open end of the container with itsperipheral area in gripping engagement with said cover-retainingstructure of the container body, v only the inner and weaker of saidlayers of the cover being sealed throughout a marginal area of the coverto the container body to provide hermetic sealing of the container bysaid inner layer of the cover, the bond between said inner, weaker layerof the cover and said container body being stronger than the bondbetween said layers of the cover, the lifting of said cover releasingsaid gripping engagement between its outer layer and said coverretainingstructure of the container body and also breaking the bond between saidlayers of the cover and so leaving said marginal area of the inner layerofthe cover attached solely to the container body for access to theinterior of said container body, said outer layer of the removed coverremaining essentially intact for subsequent recapping of the unsealedcontainer by restoration of said gripping engagement between saidretaining structure of the container body and said peripheral area ofthe cover. 2. A sealed container and cover arrangement as in claim 1 inwhich the container body has an internal peripheral ledge spaced belowthe rim of the open end for sealing engagement with said marginal areaof the inner layer of the cover, and the peripheral edge of the outerlayer of the cover is frictionally gripped by the interior face of thecontainer body above said ledge. 3. A sealed container and coverarrangement as in claim 1 in which the open end of the container bodyhas a beaded rim for sealing engagement with said marginal area of theinner layer of the cover, and the peripheral area of the cover iscrimped over said beaded rim of the container body. 4. A sealedcontainer and cover arrangement as in claim 1 in which the inner layerof the cover is heat-sealing plastic, and at least the cover-engagingsurface of the container body is heat-sealing plastic. 5. A sealedcontainer and cover arrangement as claim 1 in which the weaker innerlayer of the cover is coextensive with the outer layer with saidmarginal area of the inner layer dened by scoring, said inner layer ofthe cover within its said marginal area remaining bonded to said outerlayer of the cover upon said lifting of the cover. 6. A sealed containerand cover arrangement as in claim 1 in which the weaker layer of thecover comprises a marginal coating stripe of heat-sealing thermoplastic.7. A sealed container and cover arrangement as in claim 1 in which thecontainer body has an internal peripheral ledge spaced below the rim ofthe container open end for sealing engagement with said marginal area ofthe inner layer of the cover, and said ri-m of the container open end isflexible and crimped over into clamping engagement with the topside ofthe cover. 8. A sealed container and cover arrangement as in claim 1 inwhich the open end of the container body has a beadedl rim for sealingengagement below the rim with said marginal area of the inner layer ofthe cover as shaped over said beaded rim.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,111,259 9/1914Huit 215-38 1,153,518 9/1915 Ray 21S-38 1,690,781 11/1928 Genese 215--381,693,455 11/1928 Meldrum 215--38 (Other references on following page) 78 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 4/1937 Eisen 215--40 218,9601/1962 Austria. 12/ 1938 Reifsnyder 229-5 .6 29,162 12/ 1911 GreatBritain. 2/ 1940 Gutmann 21S-40 849,076 9/ 1960 Great Britain. 12/ 1945Blackman 21S-42 X 5 977,312 12/ 1964 Great Britain.

7/ 1952 Horning. 7/1953 Peuett 215 40 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, P1 zmaryExammer. v 1/ 1962 Wagaman, FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, GEORGE O. .RALSTON,7/1965 Rumberger 229-43 Examine/'S- 3/1966 Hoyle 21S-38 10 D E NORTONASSI-Smm Examiner.

1. A SEALED CONTAINER AND COVER ARRANGEMENT WHICH CAN BE UNSEALED BYREMOVAL OF THE COVER WITHOUT RECOURSE TO A KNIFE OR OTHER TOOL AND WHICHPROVIDES FOR RECAPPING OF THE UNSEALED CONTAINER BY THE REMOVED COVERCOMPRISING A CONTAINER BODY HAVING COVER-RETAINING STRUCTURE ADJACENTITS OPEN END, AND A COVER COMPRISING TWO LAYERS OF SUBSTANTIALLYDIFFERENT STRENGTH HAVING THEIR ADJACENT FACES BONDED TOGETHER, AT LEASTTHE OUTER STRONGER LAYER OF SAID COVER EXTENDING ACROSS SAID OPEN END OFTHE CONTAINER WITH ITS PERIPHERAL AREA IN GRIPPING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAIDCOVER-RETAINING STRUCTURE OF THE CONTAINER BODY, ONLY THE INNER ANDWEAKER OF SAID LAYERS OF THE COVER BEING SEALED THROUGHOUT A MARGINALAREA OF THE COVER TO THE CONTAINER BODY TO PROVIDE HERMETIC SEALING OFTHE CONTAINER BY SAID INNER LAYER OF THE COVER, THE BOND BETWEEN SAIDINNER, WEAKER LAYER OF THE COVER AND SAID CONTAINER BODY BEING STRONGERTHAN THE BOND BETWEEN SAID LAYERS OF THE COVER, THE LIFTING OF SAIDCOVER RELEASING SAID GRIPPING ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN ITS OUTER LAYER ANDSAID COVERRETAINING STRUCTURE OF THE CONTAINER BODY AND ALSO BREAKINGTHE BOND BETWEEN SAID LAYERS OF THE COVER AND SO LEAVING SAID MARGINALAREA OF THE INNER LAYER OF THE COVER ATTACHED SOLELY TO THE CONTAINERBODY FOR ACCESS TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER BODY, SAID OUTER LAYEROF THE REMOVED COVER REMAINING ESSENTIALLY INTACT FOR SUBSEQUENTRECAPPING OF THE UNSEALED CONTAINER BY RESTORATION OF SAID GRIPPINGENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID RETAINING STRUCTURE OF THE CONTAINER BODY ANDSAID PERIPHERAL AREA OF THE COVER.